CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Lawyers for a former national Republican Party official concluded their defense in his phone jamming trial earlier than expected, after calling just two witnesses and persuading a judge to drop one charge against their client.

James Tobin, 45, of Bangor, Maine, did not testify in his own trial, which lawyers had expected to last eight days. But the defense rested Thursday on the trial’s third day, after briefly questioning a former Maine congressional campaign manager and a Manchester police detective.

Closing arguments were scheduled to begin Monday.

Defense lawyers Thursday sought to have all four charges against Tobin dismissed, citing insufficient evidence.

Lawyer Tobin Romero argued his client did not know the details of the phone jamming plot when he referred Chuck McGee, former executive director of the state Republican Party, to Allen Raymond, owner of GOP Marketplace LLC, an Alexandria, Va.- based telemarketing brokerage. On top of that, Romero said, the phone jamming plot ultimately was not successful.

U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe said that was irrelevant.

“Could have been the dumbest idea in the world,” he said. “But if you agree to do it, you’ve got a problem.”

Hundreds of hang-up calls for nearly two hours on Nov. 5, 2002, overwhelmed Democratic get-out-the-vote phone lines in Claremont, Rochester, Nashua and Manchester and a nonpartisan ride-to-the-polls line run by Manchester’s firefighters union.

Tobin initially pleaded not guilty to four charges, one of conspiring against voters rights and three related to conspiring and aiding in making harassing and annoying telephone calls. The maximum penalty if convicted of all four counts was 19 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.

However McAuliffe agreed to dismiss one charge and narrow another, based on Romero’s argument that the indictment, which accused Tobin of plotting to make annoying phone calls, was worded too broadly. Tobin now faces one count of conspiring against voters rights, one count of conspiring to commit telephone harassment and one count of aiding and abetting in telephone harassment, dropping the maximum possible sentence to 17 years and possible $750,000 fine.

Prosecutors say Tobin, formerly a regional political director for the Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee, was the catalyst in the criminal plot masterminded by McGee. They say McGee was unable to find anyone to carry out the phone jamming until he turned to Tobin for help. Testifying earlier in the trial, McGee said Tobin gave him Raymond’s phone number about a week before Election Day.

Raymond, Tobin’s former RNC colleague, testified he hired Idaho-based Milo Enterprises to carry out execute the phone jamming. Raymond also testified he first learned about the plot about two weeks before Election Day 2002, during a phone call from Tobin.

Both men testified Tobin did not design, execute or pay for the phone jamming.